Amid the mayhem, Riley, during his coaching days, would sit pregame on the bench diagramming one last set of plays, dark-blue pen on light-blue card stock, oblivious to balls ricocheting about him. Even now, in his executive role, the stare is laser-like from his courtside seat, seeming unaware of the chaos that is today's NBA game experience.

And yet, after a night in the Heat's makeshift draft headquarters on the team's practice court, Riley offered a lesson in how blind pursuit can also blind to the possibilities.

To appreciate getting to this point, the point where the Heat will formally introduce Duke forward Justise Winslow at a Monday media session at AmericanAirlines Arena, is to appreciate the early years with Riley as a Heat executive, when players such as Charles Smith and Tim James were the first-round selections.

Then, as in now, the preparation was exhaustive. The Heat targeted. The Heat selected. The fact those picks came late in the first round made it even easier to fixate.

Then came 2002, when the pick, as was the case Thursday, also was at No. 10.

Heat surprised Winslow was available at No. 10, pounced on the Duke forward.

Heat surprised Winslow was available at No. 10, pounced on the Duke forward.

The top of the draft largely was chalk. Yao Ming at No. 1. Jay Williams, before his horrific motorcycle crash, at No. 2. Mike Dunleavy Jr. at No. 3. Drew Gooden at No. 4.

Massive international prospect. Duke. Duke. Kansas.

But then some of the smartest men in the room began to act in just such belief. Nikoloz Tskitishvili at No. 5 to Denver. Dajuan Wagner to a gloating John Lucas and Cleveland at No. 6. Nene, Chris Wilcox and Amare Stoudemire as the next three picks.

From his days as a toddler through high school, college, draft day and the summer league, check out the pictures of Justise Winslow, taken 10th overall by the Miami Heat in the 2015 NBA draft.

And there he was, available at No. 10 to the Heat, the Big East Player of the Year, Caron Butler.

Flash forward now to Thursday. And flash forward to Riley as he leaned into the microphone.

"It reminds me a lot of what happened with Caron Butler," he said of this path to Winslow. "I mean obviously it was somewhat of a surprise."

Ultimately, that is what this exercise is about. Sometimes focused and fixated can prove blinding.

"There were a couple of players that were picked the first six or seven players, there was a surprise with one of them," Riley said. "And sometimes when you're doing this, when you're in the lottery, you get locked into a guy, and you know really who you're going to pick and there's a consensus that you're going to pick somebody and somebody slips. You might not want to get off the guy that you had."

Perhaps that is why Arizona forward Stanley Johnson, viewed with less of a pedigree, went ahead of Winslow to the Detroit Pistons at No. 8. Perhaps it's why Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky went directly ahead of the Heat to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 9.

"We didn't think he would be there at ten," Riley said of Winslow. "We were locked into a couple of guys. And it's really interesting, after one of the players was picked at a certain number, our phones started ringing off the hook." By then, especially after the Pistons made their selection, a lot of phones were ringing off the hook. According to ESPN, the Boston Celtics' desperation to trade into the Top 10, ostensibly to trade up for Winslow, reached the point of offering six total draft picks to the Hornets, as many as four of them first-round picks.

In the aftermath, Celtics President Danny Ainge acknowledged, "There was a time when I thought, 'Whoa, this is getting a little out of control.' We're putting a lot of eggs in one young player's basket."

Meanwhile, back at Heat headquarters . . .

"It was really unbelievable how quickly the phone rang," Riley said of suitors lining up for the Heat's No. 10 pick. "I think Andy [Elisburg, the Heat's general manager] at one time said that, 'This was the most calls that I ever got in a draft like that,' with people trying to get to ten, trying to move up."

That, however, was when Riley, himself, grew fixated, focused.

"If you're talking about the three-spot, he was our highest-rated player on the board," Riley said, which, if the case, would have put Winslow ahead of Johnson in the Heat's ratings at small forward.

The image of Pat Riley is of the smartest man in the room. The reality is often of the most stubborn.

But Thursday, he relented. He let the draft come to him.

"It's about patience," Riley said.

Who would have thought?

IN THE LANE

THE OTHER OPTION: In the wake of the draft, Heat President Pat Riley indicated there might have been one that got away, a target that perhaps was even more intriguing to the Heat than No. 10 selection Justise Winslow. "There also was a big that we really liked, too," Riley said of landing the Duke forward. "There was a possibility that he could have fell to us. At one time we would have been happy with that situation, also." That well could have been Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein, who went at No. 6 to the Sacramento Kings, beginning the reshuffle that allowed Winslow to fall to the Heat. Indeed, amid pre-draft concern about a foot injury, Cauley-Stein pointed to a recent workout with the Heat. "Ask the Miami Heat. I was kissing the rim," he told Louisville's Courier-Journal. "They don't think there's anything wrong with it."

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: In the late-night hours after the draft, as the focus turned to free agent, there finally was candor when it came to the Heat's luxury-tax dumps of Mike Miller and Joel Anthony. Yes, the tax has mattered to the Heat and will continue to matter. "There's been a couple of situations I know that went on with Mike Miller and with Joel Anthony," Riley said. "But this is also a business, as much as it is about basketball." There, someone finally said it. Now we can move on

BEHIND THE SCENES: Among those Riley took time to acknowledge as part of the Heat's draft efforts were former assistant coaches Bob McAdoo and Keith Askins, who have moved into scouting roles in recent years, as Erik Spoelstra has overhauled his coaching staff. "Just to be able to sit down and talk to them on a regular basis, for the last couple of weeks, I feel very good for all of those guys," Riley said. "They work very hard."

THEIR TURN: We are about to embark on another LeBron James free agency. More accurately, the Cleveland Cavaliers are about to embark on one. The (erroneously) minuscule odds of him leaving the Heat last summer are even lower this summer, to the point of non-existent. But he will make the list, and he will hold his team's feet to the fire. What will make Cleveland such an interesting case study is that free-agent forward Tristan Thompson is handled by James' agency (or Rich Paul's, if you prefer). And that's with Kevin Love also a free agent. Then there's the free agency of James Jones, who had his moments in his jump to Cleveland and is a LeBron recruit. And, of course, former Heat point guard Norris Cole also will be a free agent, and also is represented by Paul. While Cole had been viewed at one point as a Cavalier-in-waiting, his strong season-ending play with the New Orleans Pelicans and the swirl that became Matthew Dellavedova-mania in Cleveland might change that part of the equation. As for James' seeming equity state in all things Cavalier, Cleveland General Manager David Griffin said after the draft, "We've heard from him every day pretty much. He's very engaged." We're assuming he meant more than mere smiley faces.

NUMBER

9. Players from the 2015 Final Four selected in Thursday's first round, including Duke's Justise Winslow to the Heat, a Final Four record. The previous high, according to Elias Sports Bureau, was eight in 2007, including Florida's Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah, as well as former Heat players Daequan Cook and Greg Oden out of Ohio State.

iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.winderman